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| Natalie Barone |
Behind the sensational play of senior guard Sarah Caskey,
Albion College (2-0) concluded the Nan Nichols Classic with a convincing
73-53 victory over The College of Wooster (1-1) in women's basketball
action at Timken Gymnasium. The Britons win their first Nan Nichols
title, while the host Scots were denied the opportunity to repeat
as champions. In the consolation final, Washington & Jefferson College
(1-1) easily handled the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford (0-2),
winning 69-49.
Albion breezed by the competition this weekend, winning its two
games by an average of 18.0 points. Against the Scots, the Britons
never trailed, opening with a 17-7 run to start the game. Albion
used its big lineup to its advantage in the first half, scoring
20 points in the paint to Wooster's 10, and outrebounding the Scots
22-14. Caskey and Ruth Sventickas each had 10 points as the
Britons converted on 16-of-38 shots (.421) and held a comfortable
36-24 lead at the midway point.
Wooster tried to battle back behind the play of Natalie Barone
late in the game, but the Britons' defense held firm, limiting the
Scots to just one 3-pointer and only nine field goals total in the
second half.
Barone finished as the Scots' top-scorer with 11 points on the
day, landing her on the all-tournament team. Junior Michelle
Hall was also selected to the all-tournament squad with a 10-point
performance on Sunday, after a 13-point, 10-rebound showing Saturday.
Sophomore Carly Loehrke tallied 10 points on the day, while
also grabbing a team-high eight rebounds. Senior Alexis Louttit
added seven points and six rebounds for the Scots.
Caskey was named the Most Outstanding Player after netting a team-high
21 points and dishing out six assists. For the weekend, the senior
averaged 22.0 points, 6.0 assists, and 6.5 rebounds, in addition
to scoring her 1,000-career point. Also joining Caskey on the all-tournament
squad was Sventickas and Liz Marcuz. Sventickas tallied 12
points against the Scots after scoring a team-high 25 in the opener
against W&J, while Marcuz was named the tournament's Defensive Most
Valuable Player after posting eight rebounds and seven points on
Sunday and averaging 7.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists on
the weekend.
In the day's first game, W&J bounced back from a disappointing
loss to Albion with a convincing victory over Pitt-Bradford. The
Panthers held the lead just one time in the game at 13:54 following
a made 3-pointer by Calista Walker, but the Presidents turned
up the pressure and went on a 24-12 scoring run to close out the
half.
Pitt-Bradford cut the lead to eight (38-30), following a good free
throw by Samantha Groller at 14:24, but just 14 seconds later
Courtney Janczak nailed the open 3-pointer to put W&J up
by double figures. The Presidents stretched the lead to as many
as 27 points with under eight minutes to go, but the Panthers battled
back to cut the lead to 15 after two free throws by Walker. A 7-0
run capped off by a 3-pointer by Amanda Stanonik at 4:49
put W&J up 62-38 and sealed the victory.
Leigh Sulkowksi was the Presidents' high-scorer with 22
points and added 11 rebounds, landing her on the all-tournament
team. Janczak and Sarah Hunt added 12 and 11, points respectively.
For the Panthers, Taiasha Brown pulled down 10 boards and
netted seven points to garner all-tournament honors, while Cassandra
Walker was high-scorer with nine points. |
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